Educational Science

10 controversies that 'broke' science in 2023

There are stories you expect to ruffle some feathers — we're looking at you, aliens — and then there are the ones we never thought would kick up a storm. This year, scientists surprised us with claims of successful room temperature superconductivity, reported sightings of long-extinct species and alternative theories...

Why do people dissociate during traumatic events?

During traumatic situations, people might experience an unexpected wave of emotional numbness or feel like they've detached from reality and are having an out-of-body experience. These symptoms of disconnect describe dissociation, a defense mechanism that separates threatening feelings and ideas from the rest of someone's psyche. But why do our...

Despite sand's crumbly nature, the world's tallest sandcastle to date — built in Blokhus, Denmark, in 2021 — stood a staggering 69 feet, 5 inches (21.16 meters) high, according to Guinness World Records. But how do sandcastles stay together? It requires the right mix of sand, water and air. Sand...

Baseball home runs could increase by 10% in the next 80 years. Here's why

Home runs are becoming more frequent in Major League Baseball (MLB) due to climate change, a new study finds. There's a very clear physical mechanism at play in which warmer temperatures reduce the density of air, study co-author Justin Mankin, an assistant professor of geography at Dartmouth University in New...

Why do magnets have north and south poles?

Cutting a bar magnet in half won't get rid of its poles. It'll just produce two magnets, each with a north pole that will be attracted to the other magnet's south pole, and vice versa. It's this fundamental property of attraction that makes magnets useful for so many purposes, from...

Can psychopaths learn to feel empathy?

People with psychopathy often embody traits such as being egocentric, manipulative, violent and probably criminal. But can people exhibiting these characteristics overcome them and learn how to feel empathy? Before diving into this question, it's important to know that the medical definition of psychopathy is incredibly complicated, and experts are...

Scientists observe metal repairing itself for the first time. Could Terminator robots be on the horizon?

For the first time, scientists have spotted metal healing itself after cracking — an observation that could pave the way for the creation of structures and robots capable of mending themselves. But for those worrying about the rise of real-life Terminator robots — don't: The newly discovered mechanism only works...

Why do babies rub their eyes when they're tired?

Parents are taught that when a baby rubs their eyes, it's a telltale sign they're ready for a nap. But why do babies rub their eyes when they're tired? What triggers this behavior, and what purpose does it serve? Unfortunately, we can't ask a baby exactly why they're rubbing their...

What's the difference between deductive reasoning and inductive reasoning?

Sherlock Holmes, the fictional sleuth who famously resides on Baker Street, is known for his impressive powers of logical reasoning. With a quick visual sweep of a crime scene, he generates hypotheses, gathers observations and draws inferences that ultimately reveal the responsible criminal's methods and identity. Holmes is often said...